WFC 2010 is coming up and I'm sure the overwhelming majority of attendees will not have the problem I am having, but I thought I'd offer this public heads-up.
So today I bought my membership for the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus. I used PayPal and my receipt reads, in part, as follows:
Hello Nicholas Mamatas,
You sent a payment of $150.00 USD to Lucy Snyder
It may take a few moments for this transaction to appear in your account.
Merchant
Lucy Snyder
As my day job was going to reimburse my purchase I was a little concerned, since the receipt, which I have to hand upstairs to the finance department, doesn't mention WFC or membership at all. How could the comptroller tell the difference between my legitimate request for a reimbursement and an attempt to defraud the company out of some money for the benefit of a private individual.
[Note, I'm not saying that Lucy Snyder, named as merchant on my receipt has done anything inappropriate or untoward or anything even remotely incorrect.]
I wrote the following to the WFC contact email address:
"I just paid for a membership via Paypal--my receipt is billed to Lucy Snyder. My Japanese-owned publishing company would likely look askance at reimbursing me for membership based on this receipt. May I receive an alternative receipt, even if by snail mail and hardcopy, on WFC letterhead or something like it? Thanks!"
WFC responded almost immediately:
"Sorry, we would have to invent a letterhead and make up a form just for you. We doubt if the Chairs
are willing to take this much time, especially since no one else has requested same. Every other
professional seems to be able to use our PayPal form, but we can always ask.
WFC36 registration"
And I responded in return:
"I am not asking for a letterhead to be created just for me; I am asking for an alternative receipt of some sort and suggested as a possibility something on letterhead. Every convention I've ever attended either as a fan, as a freelance professional, or as a member attending on an employee's dime has managed to create a receipt in exchange for money that would be easily reimbursable, or easily able to be written off in case of, say, an audit. For example, when one buys a membership for the World Horror Convention in Austin in 2011, on whose committee I sit, the receipt reads 'World Horror Membership.'
I'm sure my counterparts in New York have had no problems as their employers are very familiar with the World Fantasy Convention and may likely even know Lucy Snyder personally or at least by reputation. My situation is quite different as I work for a firm that primarily publishes manga and knows little about the ins and outs of this sort of convention. It is difficult for me to imagine any finance department in any company that would accept receipts for payments made out to seemingly random individuals as proof of purchase of a convention membership."
And that's where we stand! Will I get an actual legal receipt for my membership? Can some member of the board actually spare the, I dunno, fourteen seconds necessary to generate something that says World Fantasy Convention on it? Will my public whining help matters or destroy my precious precious career forever!? STAY TUNED!
UPDATE: Lucy saves the day!
So today I bought my membership for the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus. I used PayPal and my receipt reads, in part, as follows:
Hello Nicholas Mamatas,
You sent a payment of $150.00 USD to Lucy Snyder
It may take a few moments for this transaction to appear in your account.
Merchant
Lucy Snyder
As my day job was going to reimburse my purchase I was a little concerned, since the receipt, which I have to hand upstairs to the finance department, doesn't mention WFC or membership at all. How could the comptroller tell the difference between my legitimate request for a reimbursement and an attempt to defraud the company out of some money for the benefit of a private individual.
[Note, I'm not saying that Lucy Snyder, named as merchant on my receipt has done anything inappropriate or untoward or anything even remotely incorrect.]
I wrote the following to the WFC contact email address:
"I just paid for a membership via Paypal--my receipt is billed to Lucy Snyder. My Japanese-owned publishing company would likely look askance at reimbursing me for membership based on this receipt. May I receive an alternative receipt, even if by snail mail and hardcopy, on WFC letterhead or something like it? Thanks!"
WFC responded almost immediately:
"Sorry, we would have to invent a letterhead and make up a form just for you. We doubt if the Chairs
are willing to take this much time, especially since no one else has requested same. Every other
professional seems to be able to use our PayPal form, but we can always ask.
WFC36 registration"
And I responded in return:
"I am not asking for a letterhead to be created just for me; I am asking for an alternative receipt of some sort and suggested as a possibility something on letterhead. Every convention I've ever attended either as a fan, as a freelance professional, or as a member attending on an employee's dime has managed to create a receipt in exchange for money that would be easily reimbursable, or easily able to be written off in case of, say, an audit. For example, when one buys a membership for the World Horror Convention in Austin in 2011, on whose committee I sit, the receipt reads 'World Horror Membership.'
I'm sure my counterparts in New York have had no problems as their employers are very familiar with the World Fantasy Convention and may likely even know Lucy Snyder personally or at least by reputation. My situation is quite different as I work for a firm that primarily publishes manga and knows little about the ins and outs of this sort of convention. It is difficult for me to imagine any finance department in any company that would accept receipts for payments made out to seemingly random individuals as proof of purchase of a convention membership."
And that's where we stand! Will I get an actual legal receipt for my membership? Can some member of the board actually spare the, I dunno, fourteen seconds necessary to generate something that says World Fantasy Convention on it? Will my public whining help matters or destroy my precious precious career forever!? STAY TUNED!
UPDATE: Lucy saves the day!